Spare Times for Children Listings for Oct. 21-27

By Laurel Graeber

Oct. 20, 2016

A select guide to cultural events for children, teenagers and families.

‘AMERICA TO ZANZIBAR: MUSLIM CULTURES NEAR AND FAR’ (continuing) You have to look hard for positive representations of the Muslim world in popular culture, and even harder for a way to make it accessible to the youngest Americans. This exhibition, at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, aims to teach visitors 10 and under about a variety of Muslim communities. Divided into five sections, the show includes a global marketplace, an exploration of trade routes, a courtyard area and an investigation of architecture through different mosque styles. The final section is devoted to an American home, represented by a living room filled with objects donated by Muslims in the United States. The Tisch Building, 212 West 83rd Street, 212-721-1223, cmom.org.

‘DEAD OR ALIVE: SPECIAL EFFECTS’ (Saturday) No one does horror like the movies, and this Halloween event at the New York Hall of Science will let young visitors meet special-effects artists and try out some of their methods. The actor and teacher Jens Rasmussen will offer “Wounds and What-Not,” a demonstration of how to create fake injuries, at 1 p.m.; and “Breaking Bones and Walking Away,” a workshop in stage combat, at 1:30 p.m. Other activities include making artificial wounds with cocoa; doing analog effects with dye and cornstarch; and working with fake blood. From 1 to 4:30 p.m., New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111th Street, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, 718-699-0005, nysci.org.

THE DEEDLE DEEDLE DEES: SING-A-LONG HISTORY CONCERT (Saturday) These four musicians have billed themselves as “America’s ultimate teaching band,” and with Marie Curie on the cover of one of their albums, you have to believe they’re serious. This concert will celebrate the release of “The Rocket Went Up!,” Volume 2 of their “Sing-a-Long History” album, with tunes about science, engineering and, yes, history. At 3 p.m., Jalopy Theater, 315 Columbia Street, at Hamilton Avenue, Red Hook, Brooklyn, 718-395-3214, jalopy.biz.

DISNEY NATURE WEEKENDS: ‘OCEANS’ (Saturday and Sunday) Imagine having a play date every week with an adorable animal. Cinematically speaking, that’s what the Metrograph theater has been offering with its Disney Nature Weekends, a fall series of films about wildlife. This week’s movie, the last in the series, is “Earth,” which follows a brown bear and her two cubs through two seasons as they face the challenges of coastal Alaska. At noon, 7 Ludlow Street, near Canal Street, Lower East Side, 212-660-0312, metrograph.com.

ENCHANTED WAVE HILL WEEKEND (Saturday and Sunday) Remember the woodland fairies in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”? This weekend, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., they will be conjured at Wave Hill, the public garden in the Bronx. The drop-in Family Art Project will be devoted to making ribbon wands and tiny elfin houses from leaves, twigs and other natural materials. Children can also hear Rama Mandel tell stories about the resident sprites and enjoy the spell cast by musicians from the Bloomingdale School of Music. For an additional demonstration on making fairy garlands and wands, families can stop by the garden shop from 10 a.m. to noon. West 249th Street and Independence Avenue, Riverdale, the Bronx, 718-549-3200, wavehill.org.

GIANT PUMPKIN WEEKEND (Saturday and Sunday) You’d probably need a chain saw to carve the biggest pumpkin at this event: It’s 2,261 pounds. The New York Botanical Garden will display it and other enormous specimens in its Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, where, through Oct. 30, small visitors can also investigate more than 50 friendly scarecrows and take part in art and science activities involving flowers, fruits and seeds. Saturday is also Scarecrow Night, when, from 6:30 to 9:30, children can trick-or-treat along the Mitsubishi Wild Wetland Trail and interact with costumed characters. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) and Fordham Road, Bedford Park, the Bronx, 718-817-8700, nybg.org.

‘HANSEL & GRETEL’ (Saturday and Sunday) Yes, you know the story. But it’s been sweetened in this version by Nicolas Coppola, artistic director of Puppetworks. Based on the Brothers Grimm version and performed by marionettes, this adaptation stars a witch named Rosina Sweettooth, who’s more silly then menacing. The production, which includes folk songs from Humperdinck’s opera, gives Rosina her just deserts by transforming her into a dessert: a cookie. (Through Dec. 18.) At 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., Puppetworks, 338 Sixth Avenue, at Fourth Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-965-3391, puppetworks.org.

‘I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE’ (through Dec. 31) It will be a long time before young visitors to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan can vote — and even longer before they can run for office. But they can practice doing both at this new interactive exhibition, timed to coincide with the height of the presidential campaign. The show offers numerous historical documents signed by presidents (and some by first ladies), as well as a reproduction of a voting booth and a child-size Oval Office desk at which those aspiring to future leadership can pretend to sign papers. They can also design their own presidential seals and campaign buttons. The Tisch Building, 212 West 83rd Street, 212-721-1223, cmom.org.

KIDS ‘N COMEDY: ‘THE SCARY PRE-HALLOWEEN SHOW’ (Sunday) The class clown gets applause, not detention, at this series, in which tween and teenage comics perform stand-up. The theme relates to Halloween, with the young monologuists joking about topics like flesh-eating zombies who ride the subway. The material is recommended for children 9 and older, but there’s no need to worry about appropriateness (profanity is banned) or knock-knock jokes (these kids are sophisticated). Reservations required. At 1 p.m., Gotham Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd Street, Chelsea, 212-877-6115, kidsncomedy.com.

‘THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE’ (Saturday) In C. S. Lewis’s novels about the magical land of Narnia, it could be found only by traveling through an enchanted wardrobe. But this Saturday, Narnia will pop up in two places in Manhattan, both easily reached by subway. The first is St. Luke’s Theater, where the Off Broadway Family Theater production of Lewis’s novel “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” will celebrate its fifth anniversary at 11 a.m. Theatergoers, who will receive party favors and have an opportunity to take pictures with the cast, are encouraged to come costumed as characters for the show, written by Le Clanché du Rand and starring Jesse Corbin and Kelly Strandemo, who play all the roles. (The run is open-ended.) The second is the TriBeCa Performing Arts Center at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, which will open its Family Series season with Theatreworks USA’s adaptation of the novel at 1:30 p.m. An hourlong musical version, it is derived from a full-length production by Thomas Tierney (music) and Ted Drachman (lyrics). St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West 46th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200, narniaoffbroadway.com. TriBeCa Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers Street, near Greenwich Street, 212-220-1460, tribecapac.org.

‘MISSION TO SPACE’ (through Jan. 15) This season, Earth children won’t have to travel far to get a taste of worlds beyond our own. The Children’s Museum of the Arts has opened “Mission to Space,” a new exhibition of contemporary works by adult artists who’ve been inspired by the space program. The pieces include Nina Katchadourian’s “Asteroids,” actually magnified images of popcorn; Tom Sachs’s “Space Program,” incorporating models of Apollo mission artifacts; and David Bowie’s first music video, “Space Oddity.” 103 Charlton Street, between Hudson and Greenwich Streets, South Village, 212-274-0986, cmany.org.

ONE MORE BITE (Sunday) If you’ve ever uttered that phrase beseechingly to your child, this family food fair may help you stop the pleading. Presented by the online publication Brooklyn Based Kids, this festival will introduce young visitors to healthy eating and new flavors at a variety of stations, where they can collect stamps in a passbook and eventually earn a treat. Other activities will include plant-based art projects, guessing the amount of sugar in processed products and learning how monarch butterflies help pollinate some of our food sources. (The fair, free for children, will have panels for parents too.) From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Green Building, 452 Union Street, at Bond Street, Gowanus, Brooklyn, brooklynbased.com/one-more-bite.

‘P.S. ART 2016: CELEBRATING THE CREATIVE SPIRIT OF NYC KIDS’ (through Sunday) In this show, public school students from prekindergarten through high school achieve a distinction that some professional adult artists never do: having their work displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But the Met isn’t just being nice to a lot of New York City children. This exhibition, selected by a jury and closing this weekend, consists of 89 works, in a wide range of media, selected from more than 1,200 submissions. Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education, 212-535-7710, goo.gl/aw6DPQ.

THE ROCK AND ROLL PLAYHOUSE (Sunday) Most children aren’t shy about rocking out — especially if you provide the right tunes. In Rock and Roll for Kids, a series from the Rock and Roll Playhouse geared to music fans 10 and under, young participants move, play and sing while listening to works from the classic-rock canon. This Sunday, the theme is the 1970s, with music from Ramblin’ Dan and the Freewheelin’ Band. At 11:15 a.m. (doors open at 11 a.m.), Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Avenue, between 11th and 12th Streets, Williamsburg, 718-963-3369, therockandrollplayhouse.com/brooklynbowl.

‘STINKYKIDS THE MUSICAL’ (Saturday and Sunday) Britt Menzies, author of the StinkyKids book series, based the stories’ characters on her own children — not because they smelled bad but because, like a lot of little stinkers around the world, they tended to be mischievous. Vital Theater Company is now reviving Sammy Buck and Daniel S. Acquisto’s musical adaptation, which centers on a wad of gum in the hair and a lot of other tangles. (Through Nov. 5.) At 1 p.m., Theater at Blessed Sacrament, 152 West 71st Street, Manhattan, 212-579-0528, vitaltheatre.org.

‘STONE SOUP’ (Saturday and Sunday) In this old folk tale, a lot of cooks don’t spoil the broth; they enrich it. Literally Alive Children’s Theater has revived its version of the fable, which unfolds during the American Revolution, when a pair of hungry but wily soldiers persuade villagers to add ingredients to their odd but delectable recipe. The musical, by Michael Sgouros and Brenda Bell, is preceded by an hourlong arts workshop, in which children will help make quilts to be donated to Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals across the country. Continuing the theme of sharing, the production is also accepting donations of canned goods to be given to the charity City Harvest. (Through Nov. 13.) Saturday at 3 p.m.; Sunday at 11 a.m.; workshop one hour before curtain; Players Theater, 115 Macdougal Street, at Minetta Lane, Greenwich Village, 212-352-3101, literallyalive.com/shows/stonesoup.html.

‘THAT PHYSICS SHOW’ (Saturday and Sunday) Dave Maiullo doesn’t use cards, sleight of hand or magic wands to achieve startling effects onstage; he just relies on Newton’s laws. Mr. Maiullo, for years a physics support specialist at Rutgers University, is the wizard behind this 90-minute Off Broadway show, which includes segments on motion, momentum, vacuum, friction, density and sound. Expect lots of liquid nitrogen — and lots of surprises. (The run is open-ended.) At 3 p.m., Elektra Theater, 300 West 43rd Street, Clinton, 866-811-4111, thatphysicsshow.com.

‘WAKING UP WITH BIG CATS’ AND ‘BOO AT THE ZOO’ (Sunday) This morning experience doesn’t involve the big cats you have at home, purring on your pillow. “Waking Up With Big Cats” at the Bronx Zoo involves majestic wild feline species, particularly tigers. This program, part of a breakfast series, invites families to come for a buffet before the zoo opens, meet animal keepers and observe the wildlife as it starts its day. (Advance registration is required.) Visitors can also stay on for “Boo at the Zoo,” the Halloween program running weekends through Oct. 30. The attractions include a hay maze, crafts workshops, pumpkin-carving demonstrations, storybook readings, a dark tunnel filled with animal-theme jack-o’-lanterns and a costume parade for children to join. “Waking Up,” 9 to 10:30 a.m.; registration at bronxzoo.com or 800-433-4149. “Boo at the Zoo,” 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Bronx River Parkway and Fordham Road, Fordham, 718-367-1010, bronxzoo.com.

‘WONDERS OF THE ARCTIC’ (through March 2, 2017) Baby, it’s cold up there. This new 3-D IMAX film at the American Museum of Natural History explores the frozen beauty of the Arctic and how both animal species and humans have adapted to its wilderness. Directed by David Lickley, the documentary includes interviews with scientists and Inuit leaders and examines how, as climate change accelerates, this region has become as fragile as it is fierce. Hourly, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (the 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. showings are not in 3-D), Central Park West and 79th Street, 212-769-5200, amnh.org.